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https://hdl.handle.net/11681/10749| Title: | Random-length pipe mobile breakwater for expedient military cargo docking and unloading facility |
| Authors: | United States. Assistant Secretary of the Army (R & D) Chatham, C. E. (Claude E.) |
| Keywords: | Breakwaters Mobile breakwaters Pipe breakwaters Wave energy dissapation Water waves |
| Publisher: | Hydraulics Laboratory (U.S.) Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.) |
| Series/Report no.: | Miscellaneous paper (U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station) ; H-71-8. |
| Description: | Miscellaneous Paper Abstract: A comprehensive review of pertinent literature was conducted in an effort to determine the feasibility of using a random-length, open-tube system as a mobile breakater which is easily transported and installed and which will reduce wave action in elected areas to a satisfactory level without being subjected to large mooring forces. Though several general references were found concerning floating breakwaters, the only specific work found on the subject was that by Ippen and Bourodimos at MIT . Their report indicates that the pipe breakwater acts as a scattering or "de-tuning" device for the periodically transmitted wave energy. Conventional breakwaters protect essentially by reflection of wave energy or by dissipation through breaking of the waves. By contrast, the pipe breakwater dissipates a major portion of the wave energy by randomizing or scattering the periodic motions associated with regular waves, dissipating the energy by turbulent friction. Such a breakwater system will be most efficient when the maximum pressure difference exists between the ends of the tubes. This will occur when the tube length is one-half the wave length, and when a crest is over one end of the tube and a trough over the other. The fact that pipe lengths on the order of one-half the wave length are probably needed for optimum energy dissipation would seem to make the pipe breakwater uneconomically justified for full scale use in most coastal areas. However, in areas where short wave lengths and relatively steep waves are prevalent (reservoirs, inland lakes, etc.), the pipe breakwater might be applicable. It is also indicated that a combination of random tube lengths or passages built into fixed structures, or reflecting walls with tube arrays in front may prove of practical value in reducing the effect of breaking and hence avoiding large dynamic forces on the structures. Harbor oscillations may also be avoided by use of tube arrays. |
| Rights: | Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11681/10749 |
| Appears in Collections: | Miscellaneous Paper |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MP-H-71-8.pdf | 2.24 MB | Adobe PDF |  View/Open |